Chinese character 掼

掼 usually means “throw hard,” “fling,” or “make someone fall.”

An early Chinese character dictionary, 《说文解字》, records the traditional form 摜 with the gloss 习也, meaning “practice” or “be accustomed.” Later dictionaries connect it with 贯, 惯, and 遦; literary and dialect writing also use it for throwing, flinging, and falling.

《摜稻》 describes lifting rice sheaves and striking them on a mat or stone to release the grain. 掼 is the simplified form corresponding to 摜, so a search limited to one form can miss the other.

How is 掼 used in dialects?

It is a forceful regional verb in some Chinese dialects.

In Wuxi usage it can mean smashing something or taking a fall; it also appears in 掼稻 (thresh rice) and 掼派头 (show off money and status).

Some Wu and Jianghuai speakers may know it as a live verb, while other Chinese readers may meet it mainly in fixed phrases. A 2023 account of the Huai'an card game 掼蛋 explains its name through the local verb for throwing or striking.

What does 掼 mean in a message?

Use the phrase and the sender’s dialect to read it.

Alone, 掼 leaves the action’s object unclear: it can refer to throwing, flinging something, or knocking someone down. In set phrases, the rest narrows it: a silk hat can stand for an office, rice points to threshing, and 掼蛋 names a card game.

If you saw 掼 alone, ask for context before reading it as 惯. Modern simplified Chinese uses 惯 for “habit”; the two characters are not interchangeable.